The market for budget anamorphic shooting is growing in popularity. To keep up with that growing demand, a new player in the field, Xelmus, has released a range of more affordable anamorphic lenses: Apollo 2x Anamorphic Lenses.
Enter: Apollo– There are 3 lenses in the series, a 40mm T2, 60mm T1.6, and a 100mm T2.9.
News Shooter has a more in-depth look into the specs of the lenses here. It remains to be seen if the Apollos are true contenders with sets like the Kowa Evolutions and Atlas Orions, however, we’re interested in the bigger picture and seeing where this trend of accessible, relatively affordable anamorphic glass coming out takes the industry. You may or may not have heard about the rumors of Samyang/Rokinon working on budget anamorphic options of their own as well. With the proliferation of gimbals and drones in the market that are easily accessible, it would make sense to have some options for shooting that aren’t big and heavy like the Cooke or Master Anamorphics that people who already have experience using those stabilizers can work with.
Time will tell on how well these are received, but we’ll be keeping an eye out for release to see how they fare in the field.